1
as in preferably
by choice or preference
I would rather go to the movies than stay at home
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in instead
as a substitute
don't think of the placement test as torture but rather as a chance to show off how much you know
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in pretty
to some degree or extent
I say, don't you think that's rather expensive for a hamburger?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of rather
Blustery, gray, and cool Thursday across Maryland Thursday will be rather gray, blustery and unseasonably cool.
—
Steven Sosna, CBS News, 14 May 2026
Unlike the Kieslowski version, however, this is not a love story but rather one about creativity and imagination.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 14 May 2026
As for that rather significant runtime?
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2026
The beloved Sesame Street character, or rather, its doppelganger, has been spotted Down Under.
—Shyla Watson, PEOPLE, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for rather
Steven Sosna, CBS News, 14 May 2026
Unlike the Kieslowski version, however, this is not a love story but rather one about creativity and imagination.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 14 May 2026
As for that rather significant runtime?
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2026
The beloved Sesame Street character, or rather, its doppelganger, has been spotted Down Under.
—Shyla Watson, PEOPLE, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for rather
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rather
Adverb
-
But there’s pleasure in staying put in town too, preferably eating fish and chips at Lewis’ Seafood Restaurant and watching the light shift over the North Sea.—
Rob Crossan,
Condé Nast Traveler,
13 May 2026
-
Researchers from University College London (UCL) found that at least a weekly dose of art—preferably of diverse forms and types—made people on average about a year younger, as suggested by changes to DNA and in terms of overall health, than those who rarely treated themselves to the creative arts.—
Devorah Lauter,
ARTnews.com,
12 May 2026
Adverb
-
Headrick threw sinker after sinker, trying to get Soto to ground into a double play, but the Yankee-turned-Met drew a walk instead.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
17 May 2026
-
The late Pope Francis famously stayed away from the big European centers of Christianity during his 12-year pontificate, preferring instead to visit small Catholic communities far from Rome.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 May 2026
Adverb
-
Sandburg’s Quinn Durkin actually developed a pretty good itinerary.—
Jeff Vorva,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
-
Making contact with the phone and sending it sailing through the air had to feel pretty good after her first kick attempt came up empty.—
Sean Joseph OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
13 May 2026
Adverb
-
The scheme has been so successful, law enforcement has created a joint FBI-National Security Division task force to disrupt the operations and have dealt a series of harsh prison terms to American accomplices who have willingly aided the North Koreans.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
14 May 2026
-
Part of the experiment involves Mesler willingly extricating himself from Kordansky’s gallery roster.—
Daniel Cassady,
ARTnews.com,
14 May 2026
Adverb
-
While the first debate, hosted by Nexstar on April 22, was relatively calm, the subsequent three debates were more chaotic, often serving as an opportunity for candidates to lob accusations at one another.—
James Ward,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
-
These relatively limited records from New Netherland consist mostly of what others said about them.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 May 2026
Adverb
-
The second followed soon after.—
Tom Williams,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
Design software companies have been hit hard by the AI scare trade, as investors worry that AI will soon be able to handle creative tasks in minutes.—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
16 May 2026
Adverb
-
The dazzling variety of musical practices, across places and across time, surfaces this interplay in sensorily vivid terms, providing a unique opportunity to illuminate the role of history and environment on perceptual experiences that feel quite individual.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
-
Francesco Caballero has been juggling a lot — quite literally.—
Andrea Flores,
Los Angeles Times,
19 May 2026
Adverb
-
But Sean Payton’s team was also abnormally good in one-score games, won its final two against division foes without their starting quarterbacks, played a third-place schedule and stayed fairly healthy — until overtime of the divisional round, at least.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
15 May 2026
-
That's a fairly small sum, although many of her most famous dance cuts arrived long before iTunes, and sometimes decades before Billboard introduced the tally.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rather.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rather. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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